Chinese Roots

 These names are listed in order that they appear in the Hundred Surnames Poem aka Bai Jia Xing (百家姓).  Only names that have links to information have been included.  For a complete list of the Bai Jia Xing names with pronunciations and meanings, please visit Ronald Eng's site . Surname Romanized Name Pronunciation Meaning and Origin 1 趙 Chao, Chew, Chu, Chiu Zhao4 To return the goods to the original owner 2 錢 Chien Qien2 cash; money 3 孫 Sun,

My interest in my family genealogy was recently piqued when my father mentioned something about a document that was given to him by my grandfather who had recently passed away. Although my father didn't seem too interested in it, I started looking into it and tried to do some basic research into the origins of my family surname (Mok, 莫). Unfortunately, I soon discovered the dearth of English material relating to my surname on the Internet. I also began to realize what a treasure chest of information that document represented. I started looking more carefully at the document with my father translating. The document contains a family tree of the first recorded Mok that goes back to the Tang dynasty. There is also an account of the lineage of the first Mok, who descended from the 2nd son of the second to last Western Zhou emperor. Since this account was a photocopy of a hand written page, I was doubtful of the authenticity or accuracy of it. But thankfully, I corroborated much o

The Chinese name If you are reading this page, chances are likely that you understand the structure of a typical Chinese name when compared with a typical western name. In the western world, a person’s family name is positioned after the person’s given name. In the Chinese culture, a person’s name usually consists of three characters, but can range from two to four characters. A person’s family name is positioned first and their given name is positioned last. Symbolism and the name Chinese traditions rely heavily on symbolism and a persons name is no different. A Chinese surname is passed down through the generations and tells others about the person’s family history. The surname is often looked upon as a symbol of a man’s pride and honor. The history associated with the surname often tells of past glorious deeds by the person’s ancestors. Just as there are common male and female names in the west like John, Peter, Mary, and Sue; there are common names given to men and women